Conventional tire building machines normally employ a retractable tail stock which supports the outboard end of the shaft of the drum or shaper during the tire building process. The tailstock is retractable to permit the finished tire or tire band to be removed from the machine, and also to permit placement of tire components such as beads. Such machines may be seen, for example, in Isaksson et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,524,784 and Jones et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,740,293.
However, many tires today are made in a multi-stage process with components such as belt and tread assemblies or tire bands being made separately and then transferred to a shaping machine for final assembly. Examples of such multi-stage building process may be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,475,254 and 3,442,746 to Henley and Robertson, respectively.
For smaller size radial tires, the shaft of the shaper need not have an outboard support or journal if properly constructed so as to minimize deflection. Reference may be had to applicant's copending application Ser. No. 814,196 filed July 11, 1977, entitled "Tire Building Machine" for a disclosure of such machine. When an outboard journal or support for the shaft is not required, transfers for components such as belt and tread assemblies may readily be employed. However, in connection with machines for the manufacture of larger size tires such as truck tires, which machines of course employ longer shafts, outboard support during the construction or shaping process is generally required for accuracy.
Moreover, many tire companies employ a variety of processes for manufacture of such tires, larger truck tires being extremely complex and having many parts which must be accurately assembled and shaped. In a first stage machine, a flat pulley band is constructed, and such band may or may not contain the beads. The band is then transferred to the second stage machine for shaping and further assembly. In a second stage machine the flat band or tire carcass may be further constructed and shaped to its toroidal shape for final assembly with components such as the belt and tread assembly and sidewall components. In a single stage machine, first and second stage operations are combined in a single substantially continuous process. Heretofore, first, second, or single stage machines generally employ single use components designed to achieve maximum efficiency for a single application. The components of such machines are not normally interchangeable except perhaps in a relatively narrow tire size range.
Regardless of the process employed, each of the above-described tire building methods nonetheless generally requires an idle journal outboard support for the drum or shaper shaft, in many processes an outboard bead setter, and a transfer, whether it be for moving components such as belt and tread assemblies to the centerline of the shaper, the assembly or removal of bead sealing flanges, or the removal of the finished tire or band. A transfer is particularly desirable in connection with larger tires where the tires, components, or parts are generally larger and heavier and not readily susceptible to manual handling. Automatic transfer of course facilitates centering and concentricity which is extremely important in the construction of radial tires. Further, a transfer which will function automatically during the cycle of the machine frees the operator for supervisory or other tasks increasing the efficiency of the machine and the process.